Touchdowners — Play Free Online

What is Touchdowners?

Touchdowners is a floppy physics football game where you steer a whole team of three ragdoll players with just two direction buttons. Both teams scramble for one loose ball, and you score by carrying it into the other team's end zone and touching it down. It is a touchdown game that is easy to start and hard to control: your players flail, tumble and spin their arms, so every play turns into a messy pile-up. You can play alone against the computer in three modes or face a friend on the same keyboard in 2 Player mode.

Key features

• Three players, two buttons: the arrow keys move your whole team at once; you control all three players together.
• Real 2 Player mode: two people share one keyboard, Player 1 on Z, X and C and Player 2 on the arrow keys and M.
• Career: win your way through the Local Bowl, National Bowl and Supper Bowl (that is how the game spells it).
• League: a 10-match season against five other teams, with a points table and 60-second matches.
• Arcade: keep scoring until the computer gets one touchdown, then try to beat your best score.
• 40 teams and coins: you earn coins for wins and trophies and spend 100 coins to unlock a locked team.

How to play Touchdowners

1. On the title screen choose Career, Arcade or 2 Player. Use the arrow keys and Space, or click with the mouse, to pick menu options.
2. Pick your team on the Choose Team screen. The first time you play, a short tutorial explains the basics.
3. Hold left or right to push your three players across the field. Holding a direction also makes them spin their arms.
4. Touch the ball with one of your players to grab it. Touching a ball the other team is holding can knock it out of their hands.
5. Press the pass key to throw the ball toward a teammate or away from trouble.
6. Get the player holding the ball into the opponent's end zone to score a touchdown. After each score the field resets for the next play.

Controls

Action	Single player	2 Player: Player 1	2 Player: Player 2
Move team left	Left arrow	Z	Left arrow
Move team right	Right arrow	X	Right arrow
Pass the ball	Z	C	M
Pause	P or Esc	P or Esc	P or Esc
Menus	Arrow keys and Space, or mouse	Arrow keys and Space, or mouse	Arrow keys and Space, or mouse

Touchdowners match rules and rewards

How a match ends depends on the mode. These numbers come from the game's own code.

Mode or event	How it works	Coins
Career bowl game	First to 3 touchdowns wins	+10 for a win
Career bowl final	First to 5 touchdowns wins	+10 for a win
Local Bowl	4 games on the bracket	+20 for the trophy
National Bowl	5 games on the bracket	+50 for the trophy
Supper Bowl	7 games on the bracket	+100 for the trophy
League match	60-second clock, most touchdowns wins; 3 points for a win, 1 for a tie	+10 for a win, +5 for a tie
League season	10 matches, 6 teams in the table	+100 for 1st, +50 for 2nd
Arcade run	Ends when the computer scores once	+5 (0–3 TDs), +10 (4–6), +15 (7–9), +20 (10 or more)
2 Player match	First to 3 touchdowns wins	None
Unlock a team	Pick a locked team and press Unlock	Costs 100

In Arcade, the computer team gets tougher as your score goes up, so the first few touchdowns are the easy part.

Tips and strategy

• Tap, don't hold, near the ball: holding a direction sends your players tumbling past the ball. Short taps keep them close enough to grab it.
• Pass when you are boxed in: if the carrier is stuck under a pile of defenders, a quick pass can move the ball to open space before it gets knocked loose.
• Keep the ball away from enemy arms: a touch from an opposing player can steal it, so carry it along the edge of the pile, not through the middle.
• Use the League clock: in a League match a one-touchdown lead late in the 60 seconds is often enough, and a tie still gives 1 point and 5 coins.
• Farm coins in Arcade: a run of 10 or more touchdowns pays 20 coins, which adds up quickly toward the 100 needed for a new team.

Game modes

Career

Pick a team and play through bracket tournaments. Early games are first to 3 and each final is first to 5. Trophies for the Local Bowl, National Bowl and Supper Bowl are tracked for each team.

League

Choose League instead of the bowls to play a 10-match season. Each match lasts 60 seconds, and the table shows wins, losses, ties and points. The screen at the end tells you where you finished, from 1st to 6th.

Arcade

One endless match against the computer. Score as many touchdowns as you can; the first time the other team scores, it is Game Over. Your best score is saved, and beating it shows a New Record message.

2 Player

Two players on one keyboard, each controlling a full team of three. The first to 3 touchdowns wins, and the result screen says Player 1 Wins or Player 2 Wins.

Versions and similar games

Touchdowners is much sillier than a real football sim: no play calling, no downs, just a scramble for the ball. If you want to run a full team with passing plays and seasons, play Retro Bowl. For more quick touchdown games unblocked on the site, try Football Bros, Touchdown Rush or 2 Minute Football, or browse every football game.

Developer and history

The credits screen in the game reads "A game by Colin Lane and Brad Erkkila" and "Made in Stencyl," with links to both developers' Twitter pages. The browser version is an HTML5 build from the Stencyl engine, published on Poki, which is why it runs in a browser on desktop computers and Chromebooks without a download.